


Intrigue

by slasherhack



Category: Friday the 13th Series (Movies)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Other, and people who ignore 'no flash photography' rules, reader has a lot of feelings about animal cruelty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-10
Updated: 2019-01-10
Packaged: 2019-10-07 13:43:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17366936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slasherhack/pseuds/slasherhack
Summary: Nobody has visited Crystal Lake in years, and that’s precisely the reason you chose this location for your hike; fewer people means less noise and more time to catalogue the interesting flora and fauna you see. (It also helps that you don’t happen to work here, so you’re free from the distraction of playing tour guide to people who can’t seem to grasp that ‘no flash photography’ means no flash photography.)You’re not stupid, of course. You know the reason nobody dares come near this place; you’ve heard the stories just like everyone else has.





	Intrigue

**Author's Note:**

> alternative summary: reader thinks mystery men who save injured dogs are cute

You’ve grown quite good over the years at keeping mental checklists; your memory is something of a point of pride for you, and it greatly increases your ability to keep up with your supplies. Right now, you’re running through one such list for the nth time, just to make absolutely sure that you have everything you’re going to need. Once you’re satisfied, you sling your pack over your shoulders and shut the trunk of your car, making your way toward the path that you’d picked out.

Nobody has visited Crystal Lake in years, and that’s precisely the reason you chose this location for your hike; fewer people means less noise and more time to catalogue the interesting flora and fauna you see. (It also helps that you don’t happen to work here, so you’re free from the distraction of playing tour guide to people who can’t seem to grasp that ‘no flash photography’ means  _no flash photography_.)

You’re not stupid, of course. You know the  _reason_  nobody dares come near this place; you’ve heard the stories just like everyone else has. But you also happen to be a pretty skilled hiker with a can of bear mace on your key chain, so you don’t feel unsafe going on a hike in the middle of the day, no matter what anyone says about the area.

Shaking the nagging thoughts from your mind, you take a deep breath, inhaling the scent of pine and earth. Then, you start walking.

* * *

After a couple of hours, you find yourself by the lakeside, looking out over the glittering water. Stopping to rest, you pull out your journal and start sketching a small sample of  _Ceanothus americanus_  you found.

You’re nearly done with the sketch when you see a figure in the distance.

_Huh. That’s weird, I didn’t see anyone on my way up here…_

You tuck your journal away and slip your pack back on over your shoulders, eyebrows furrowing as you squint into the distance, hand shading your eyes from the sun. Now that you’re really looking, you can see that the mysterious individual appears to be carrying something. Something  _big_.

Curiosity beating out your apprehension, you start making your way around the lake.

The mysterious individual - who you’ve surmised, at this point, is a man, just based on height and body shape - doesn’t seem to take notice of the fact that he’s being followed, even after about fifteen minutes; his pace is so leisurely that you’re able to catch up to him pretty easily, but you make sure to stay a reasonable distance away, as though you’re tracking an animal.

At some point, once you can no longer see the lake and are fairly deep into the surrounding woods, you step on a rather decently-sized stick. It’s dry and brittle enough that it snaps in two under your boot, and the sound echoes through the trees.

The man immediately stops and turns around.

You have to bite back a gasp when you see what he’s holding.

“Oh my god, what happened?” You babble, dashing forward to examine the heavily injured dog in the man’s arms. “Oh… Oh, poor puppy.” Your bring your eyes up to glare at the man. You note that he’s wearing a hockey mask, yellowed with age, and file that information away for later; there are more pressing matters to attend to at the moment. “Did you do this?”

He seems taken aback. You have to remind yourself that you were, sort of, stalking him; of course he’s surprised when someone just appeared out of nowhere and accused him of hurting an innocent animal. After a moment, he shakes his head.

You swing your bag off your shoulder and begin rifling through it. “I have some spray-on Neosporin in here somewhere…” Glancing up quickly, you say, “Oh, shit, here,” and take off your jacket, laying it across the ground. You point at it before beginning to search for the Neosporin again. “Lay her down there, and if she tries to move, hold her still.

Still seeming a bit fazed, the man kneels and gently lays the dog down on your jacket. She whines, moving her head to look up at you piteously.

Once you find the little bottle of Neosporin, your move to kneel opposite the man.

“This might sting, so if she tries to get up, don’t let her. She might hurt herself worse,” you say. The man nods.

You spray the salve on the dog’s wounds with little difficulty; they’re probably superficial, but you don’t want to assume that and end up being wrong.

After you’re done, you sit back on your heels and direct your attention to the man. “I’m not familiar with this area. Is there an animal clinic anywhere near here that we could take her to? Even within driving distance?” He cocks his head at you, reminiscent of a puzzled dog - which is almost fitting, considering the situation - and you feel heat rising in your cheeks, though you aren’t sure why. Feeling the need to explain yourself, you add, “Just to have her checked out and make sure that her injuries aren’t worse than they look.”

He nods, slowly at first and then more forcefully in what you presume is meant to be an answer to your question. He carefully gathers the dog up in his arms and then looks down at you expectantly. (You think it’s expectant, anyway. It’s hard to tell with the mask.)

You realise, after a few seconds, that he’s waiting for you to lead the way back to your car.

“We’ll have to move fast, but you need to make sure you don’t jostle her too much. She’s already in enough pain as it is.”

The man nods again.

You pause for a beat. “And I’m driving. You can sit in the front and tell me where to go, but it’s my car.”

Another nod.

“…You don’t talk much, huh?”

He shakes his head.

You decide you’re all right with that.

**Author's Note:**

> (i lied reader knows exactly why they're flustered)
> 
> this was requested by someone over on my tumblr, @slashhack. if you want to request something, requests are currently open, so go ahead and drop in!


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